Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Enrollment .....Return to Top
Q: Am I eligible to enroll in Air War College?
A: Taken from AFI 36-2301, 27
June 2002 See AFCAT 36-21223, AU Catalog, and
table 1 for details on eligibility requirements for officers
and DoD civilians. In addition, civilians must have an
appointment without time limitation. Eligibility waiver
authority for nonresident PME schools rests with HQ AU.
Officers must have the proper grade and fall within the
eligibility criteria below.
Active Duty Officer and DoD Civilian School Eligibility
Criteria
(Extracted from Table 1 AFI36-2301
- Lt Col (O-5) selectee through Colonel (O-6)
- GS/GM-13 through 15
HQ AU is the waiver authority for all nonresident
eligibility and completion restrictions and limitations.
Q: I am an international Officer or international
civilian. Am I eligible?
A: Taken from AFI
367-2301, 27 June 2002 International applicants
for nonresident PME programs must be military members
or civilian employees of the military department of
a country or international organization eligible for
Foreign Military Sales (FMS) training program sponsorship.
The applicant's military or civilian grade for Air War
College must be equivalent to the following US Air Force
Grades.
Lt Col (O-5) selectee through Colonel (O-6) or GS/GM-14
and 15
Q: Can I finish my AWC studies if I retire from the
military?
A: Only US 0-5 (or selectees) or higher grade active
duty, Guard or Reserve members, approved foreign military
officers in equivalent grades, DoD civil service employees
in grade GS-13 or higher and CAP officers, 0-5 selectee
or higher, may be enrolled in AWC via nonresident studies--in
accordance with AFI 36-2301. Thus, if studies are not
completed when an enrolled student retires, they cannot
continue to pursue the AWC program. Waivers to enrollment
eligibility have consistently been disapproved by Air
University, based upon funding/manning limitations projected
for the program and AWC staff, based upon the expected
pool for enrollments in accordance with AFI 36-2301. Total
enrollment generally averages over 6000 students at any
one given time.
Books .....Return to Top
Q: How can I get books if I am assigned to a remote
site?
A: As discussed in a similar question in this section
about taking exams while on remote assignment, books for
each of our courses can be mailed to students anywhere
that mail can be delivered. We have been successful getting
mail to contingency areas with US troops assigned and
to locations where US officers may be assigned to embassies
or UN operations in nontraditional duties.
Q: How long will it take for my books to be delivered
or my tests to be sent and graded?
A: Our textbooks and exams are stored/printed
by, and shipped from the Air Force Institute for Advanced
Distributed Learning (AFIADL). While our systems are
mostly electronic, even they are not all "real
time". Enrollment, Course/textbook and exam orders
received by Close of Business (COB) are processed as
described below:
Books: When you enroll in the program
or order course textbooks, your request is usually processed
the same day (except on weekends or holidays or after
hours). However, books are only shipped from AFIADL
on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and they are sent 4th Class/book
rate. For example, enrolling or ordering books anytime
after Wednesday COB means the books won't be mailed
until the following Tuesday. Usually shipping only takes
a few weeks stateside, but can become a month. During
contingencies, overseas shipments have taken as long
as 8 weeks.
Exams: Although exam requests are
processed into our system the same day we receive your
order (except on weekends or holidays or after hours),
exams are only mailed first class on Tuesdays, Thursdays,
and Mondays from AFIADL (if ordered Monday, Wednesday,
or Friday by COB respectively). For example, an exam
ordered after COB on Friday won't be mailed until the
following Tuesday. Exams are mailed first class. You
can confirm AWC exam order processing using the "Student
Information System", which will indicate "sent"
for your course exam (except for Elective exam orders).
We anticipate stateside mailing (arrival at your TCF)
to take two weeks, although often it may be quicker.
NOTE: We do not "Overnight" ship books
or exams - we have neither the funding or the
resources to process orders outside our established systems,
nor do we accept such requests.
Grading: AFIADL scans exams received
from Education Centers daily, but we at AWC process/score
exam results (grade) only on Mondays, Wednesday and
Fridays - early morning. We send your feedback via email,
immediately following scoring the same day on Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday. For reasons beyond our understanding
or control, the vast majority of exams are processed/scored
on Wednesday mornings. Note: all new course exams are
not scored until validation is completed, usually a
week after the scheduled Seminar Program student deadline
for that exam (as described in your Student Guide in
Section 4, Examinations).
If I'm
TDY or at remote site .....Return to Top
Q: How can I take my AWC exams if I am assigned to a
remote site?
A: We have many students assigned to remote places
that do not have official Test Control Facilities (TCFs)
assigned, such as foreign exchange officers on non-US
bases, those assigned at embassies, international students
in countries without a US military presence, those serving
on naval vessels on deployment, etc. In such cases, or
if you are enrolled and are tasked to deploy to a remote
location for extended time, we work with you to set up
an alternate test proctor. Alternate proctors must be
certified by an AWC faculty advisor as being a US military
officer who either has completed AWC or an equivalent
SSS program, a senior NCO who will obviously not be able
to later become commissioned and take the AWC course (usually
due to their age) or a US embassy official or other US
civil service agent that will not later become eligible
to enroll in AWC. Once certified, any exams ordered for
the affected student will be mailed to the alternate proctor
for administration.
Q: How can I get books, pursue my studies and/or maintain
progress if I am assigned to a remote site?
A: As discussed in a similar question in this section
about taking exams while on remote assignment, books for
each of our courses can be mailed to students anywhere
that mail can be delivered. We have been successful getting
mail to contingency areas with US troops assigned and
to locations where US officers may be assigned to embassies
or UN operations in nontraditional duties. As long as
the student can access a computer to get to our website
and receive e-mail, progress can normally be unimpeded.
Researching to accomplish the required paper can be a
challenge in such cases, but many sources can be found
via the Internet (some guidance and electronic links on
this are provided in our Student Guide and/or on the AWC
website) and most military units with at least small libraries
assigned can utilize the library-to-library loan program
that exists between DoD libraries. We have even had students
enrolled via seminar in Saudi Arabia survive doing papers
by getting books from stateside bases into their sites
via frequent shuttles from US bases.
Tests & Retests .....Return to Top
Academic
Credit.....Return to Top
Q: Can I get college credits for my AWC work?
A: Yes. Academic Credit for your AWC
work can be used to fulfill academic requirements at
other institutions. The American Council of Education
(ACE) recommends graduate academic credits in the following
areas:
• Military history and strategy
• Regional studies
• Defense resource management
• Defense policy and national security
studies
ACE can only recommend credit. It is up to the applicable
college or university to decide whether to grant these
credits, and whether to apply them toward a specific
degree. Graduates desiring academic credit should
request the Air University Registrar send a transcript
of their work to the college or university where they
desire credit. The registrar's address is AU/CFR,
60 Shumacher Ave., Maxwell AFB AL 36112-6337, or call
DSN 493-8128. Please include your name, SSAN and date
of graduation with your request. You will find a transcript
request information at http://www.au.af.mil/au/cf/auregistrar/transcript_request.pdf
, contact the registrar at Student Records (CFRR): 334-953-8128.
Speed Limits .....Return to Top
Q: I am in a hurry to enroll in and complete Air War
College. As a correspondence student, how quickly can I
complete the requirements for graduation?
A: Please contact an AWC Faculty Advisor prior
to or immediately after enrollment if you plan to finish
on an accelerated schedule (in less than a year). While
AWC does not recommend an accelerated schedule, a dedicated
reading and studying effort can succeed in less than the
normal schedule of six months per course. However, "currency"
is a primary program objective, whereas "rapid completion"
is not. Our annually updated curriculum is developed and
produced in coordination with the 10 month long AWC Resident
Program to meet the nonresident Seminar program schedule,
as illustrated in your Student Guide. AWC policy is to
enroll students in the latest edition material, subject
to availability, to provide the most current information
and learning possible. Courseware and exams for each Academic
Year's Edition of our program are developed sequentially
and printed "just in time" to meet the Seminar Program
schedule. Sometimes there is an enrollment "moratorium"
when older edition material is exhausted pending production
of the latest edition. The annual Academic Year Edition
initial availability and Seminar program begin in August
each year and are completed in June the following year.
Students enrolling in the most current Edition correspondence
program early in its development/availability will not
be able to complete AWC any faster than the seminar schedule,
or in less than 10 months. This will be less of a problem
for those enrolling later in the Edition's cycle because
more and more of the material is available to meet an
accelerated schedule. Please refer to the "Edition and
Course availability" information and the Academic Year
Seminar Schedule in the Student Guide for more information
and to see when tests will be ready for each Course. For
example, students enrolling between January and May enroll
towards the end of the current edition and all curriculum
will be available "soon", but students enrolling in July
or later will have to wait on the latest edition's production.
If you finish your reading and study before a course exam
is available, you will be directed to work on the Elective
or Writing Assignment in the meantime. Do NOT ask to be
enrolled in older material, as this is contrary to the
command direction for our program. Plan accordingly and
pace yourself as necessary. Don't let your procrastination
and our production prevent you from completing our program
before a desired selection or promotion board!
Research Paper, Topics, & Template .....Return to Top
Q: Where do I find the template?
Q: Do I have to use the AWC template from the web
page for my paper?
A: No, but we highly recommend that it be used.
The template is provided as an aid/guide and takes away
student need to wrestle with administrative issues, like
setting margins, spacing, headers, fonts, etc. Using the
template by highlighting its content and typing or pasting
in your own words allows automatic formatting for your
paper. The template Table of Contents even automatically
updates itself with minor input from you as the final
step in paper completion. Your paper will be graded on
content, minor differences in how the pages are physically
formatted is a secondary concern. Papers would only be
downgraded on format if that format makes the paper difficult
to follow. That being said, you must comply with
the organizational outline guidance in the student
guide and that posted on our website for specific kinds
of papers. (Hint: Before you start highlighting and erasing
our words in the template, print yourself a hard copy,
because it contains critical guidance for completion of
the paper that adds to that provided in Section 5 of the
Student Guide and that posted other places on our website)
Q: Why can't I pick any topic I desire to write
on to fulfill the Writing Assignment (Research Paper)
requirement?
A: To fulfill the goals for an Air
War College education, we limit the topics allowed to
those most closely connected to the material covered
by our curriculum and that fulfill the AWC educational
objectives. Many students have asked that they be allowed
to write on topics related to their career fields or
some personal interest. In order to educate students
destined to fill tomorrow's senior leadership roles
to understand the strategic environment - the ambiguity,
tradeoffs, factors and decision making at senior levels
- and demonstrate and communicate critical thinking
regarding this environment, versus explaining or describing
some part of the Air Force or personal interest, we
have specific topics designed to fulfill the objectives.
Some flexibility and current interest research is allowed
via the Air University Air War College APPROVED topics,
which are updated annually based on MAJCOM and other
organization research interest submissions. Experienced
researchers or authors who are prepared to spend much
more time on this assignment versus completing our preapproved
strategy analysis or policy evaluation, are free to
pursue this option and must also gain approval from
their AWC advisor. However, our experience has been
that even those approved to complete an AWC Approved
AU research topic are greatly challenged, and often
fail, to demonstrate the critical thinking required.
Page numbering restarts at beginning of each chapter.
Go to the first page where you are having the numbering
problem and click anywhere on that page.
From the menu, select Insert and then Page Numbers.
Click on Format Button.
In the section labeled Page Numbering, select Continue
from Previous Section
Now click on OK to back out
That should fix your problem. You may have to repeat
the process for each section, throughout the document.
The problem occurs when inserting new sections. If you
didn't use the existing sections and inserted your own,
Word will copy the same parameters as used in the
previous section (probably for Chapter 1 which is supposed
to start with page 1).
How to get rid of "Error! Bookmark not
defined."
This problem occurs when a heading in your document
is deleted and you try to update only the page numbers.
Since Word can't find the location of that header,
it reports " Error! Bookmark not defined." instead
of a page number. To fix this problem, update the entire
table by:
Clicking anywhere on the Table of Contents, List of Illustrations,
or List of Tables with the right mouse button.
Select Update Field.
Now, select Update Entire Table and click OK.
You should follow this process for the Table of Contents
any time any headers are added, changed, or deleted;
for the List of Illustrations any time any figure captions
are added, changed, or deleted; and for the List of Tables
any time any table legends (captions) are added, changed,
or deleted.
Suspenses & Extensions .....Return to Top
Q: If I get behind due to deployments, workload, personal
problems, etc., can I get an extension to my exam or paper
suspenses
A: Yes, but you must ask! If you have an exam,
elective or paper suspense date to expire, our system
will disenroll you. To avoid this, when you see that you
will not be able to meet a particular suspense, contact
your advisor via e-mail, phone, fax or postal mail to
ask for an extension. No supervisor approval or recommendation
is needed--just ask! Our advisors are ready to accommodate
your extension requests and normally grant them with no
question. We do encourage students to meet suspenses set
in order to allow for timely progression through the program.
Our program is updated annually, but the edition you start
in is normally the one you will finish with. Thus, if
you take longer than the 18 months projected for a correspondence
student to finish the program, the material you are studying
and being tested on will become dated. We understand that
deployment turbulence and other detracting factors happen
and do accommodate, but strongly encourage all to finish
as quickly as possible, once enrolled.
Web Site & Online Material .....Return to Top
Q: Why is it important that I periodically visit the
AWC nonresident studies website?
A: Other than the obvious, filling out the enrollment
form to begin studies, ordering exams for courses and
electives, downloading the writing template, etc., students
should visit the site to access course news for their
edition of the program, to review their records to determine
status of course/exam completions, update AWC with new
postal and e-mail addresses, locate links for bibliographies
helpful in research paper accomplishment, one-click action
to e-mail their advisor, etc. Keeping your address, phone,
e-mail and other personal information updated is key--without
it being updated, books will be sent to obsolete addresses
in your file, exams will go to the wrong TCFs, you will
not get properly notified of exam results (done via e-mail
with the address on file in your record), graduation documentation
will get sent to the incorrect location, etc. Visiting
the Course News site for your edition is critical, since
posting there announce edit changes to lesson materials,
changes in policy, etc.
Non-Attribution
Policy .....Return to Top
Q: What is "Nonattribution"?
A: We ask each enrollee to read the following
and sign the enrollment form attesting that you have read
and agree to abide by the policy.
Nonattribution Definition: Treating statements
made in a school forum (including but not limited to
seminar discussion, CD-ROM, and online) as privileged
information. Refraining from attributing any statements
to a specific individual.
Nonattribution Policy: Statements, disagreement,
and other comments made by individuals or groups in
the school forum are safeguarded through the practice
of nonattribution. It is acceptable to say a "previous
speaker" made a particular statement, but the speaker's
name will not be divulged.
Student Responsibility: Individuals who violate
the nonattribution policy are subject to adverse administrative
and disciplinary action. Military personnel subject
to the UCMJ who violate the nonattribution policy are
subject to disciplinary actions under the UCMJ. Cases
involving civilian personnel will result in a memorandum
to the civilian's supervisor describing their violation
of the Air University academic freedom policy. Students
are also subject to faculty board action under AFCAT
36-2223, USAF Formal School, and AFI 51-602, Boards
of Officers.
Graduation
.....Return to Top
Q: What happens after I complete my last requirement?
A: Your Faculty Advisor will "graduate"
you (change your status in our system - reflected subsequently
in your online "Student Information System"
report) when your writing assignment is graded (passing),
or when advised that your last exam has been completed
(by our system automatically, based on completing all
requirements). Your Faculty Advisor will "graduate"
students any day during the normal work week, however,
Graduate status is normally only conveyed externally (AU
Registrar, AFIADL) once a week on Wednesday mornings.
So the normal weekly "deadline" for graduating
is Close of Business every Tuesday.
For all Air Force military members, your Graduate Status
is sent by AFIADL to the AF Personnel System for updating
by End of Week. Your graduate status should be reflected
in your local AF Personnel System record, some time
the next week.
For all students, your diploma and Congratulatory letter
from the Commandant is usually prepared and mailed,
first class, the week following your graduation. For
DoD Civilian and non-AF students, this diploma constitutes
your "proof" of graduation/completion and
should be presented as desired to your local personnel
office for inclusion in your records.
AF Guard and Reserve members also have their "study
hours" for whatever final requirement you completed,
sent to the AF Personnel System, where the hours are
converted to "points". Non-AF Guard and Reserve
members are mailed their last MAFB Form 96 which similarly
reflects your completed study hours. Please refer to
the description of this process in your Student Guide,
Section 2, Program Information.
.....Return to Top
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